Verdict
In a nutshell, the single-player portion of Gran Turismo Sport remains important to the core experience. Aside from the lack of championship cups, the single-player gameplay experience remains similar, carrying the same enjoyable and authentic simulator experience. The biggest change in single-player content is the freeform sense of progression, letting players do whatever they please to become better drivers.
While lacking in content compared to past entries, Gran Turismo Sport makes up for it in quality. Each vehicle received equal attention to detail, and the realistic lighting makes everything look photorealistic. Since the first game released on the original PlayStation, impressive graphical fidelity has been one of the defining aspects of Gran Turismo, and this latest entry matches those high expectations for today’s standards.
Simply put, Gran Turismo Sport is a true Gran Turismo game that focuses more on quality than quantity. It remains to be seen whether Gran Turismo Sport’s change in direction is enough to appease series fans and newcomers in a time where other racing simulator games have risen in popularity. Unlike the PSOne and PS2 eras where Gran Turismo was largely uncontested, it’s debut on the PS4 will largely compete against Turn 10’s Xbox One Exclusive Forza Motorsport 7 and Slight Mad Studios’ Project Cars 2, which both have some of the hallmark features of the series such as stunning graphics, authentic racing simulator experience, and a robust career mode. While possibly just a coincidence, Polyphony Digital’s shift in focus for Gran Turismo Sport allows the series to feel fresh from its competitors while breaking new grounds in the sim racing genre.
